Requiem
by Wolf Aerith
Summary: Anastasia is a vaultie-turned-wanderer on a mission, and her bodyguard Charon is just a hired hand...at first. Re-Write of "Fallen Stars". Charon/Vaultie. T for mild violence, language, etc.
1. Chapter 1 Requiem

**Chapter One—Requiem**

_Eighteen-year-old Anastasia ran from the shouts, the screams of those she used to love. Her heart was clouded with confusion, her eyes with tears and sweat. She leapt over the thick steel frame of the vault door, hearing bullets smashing into the metal floors and walls behind her. Even after the firing stopped and she heard the screech of the alarm signaling the closing of the vault's door, she kept running, stumbling in the new terrain of dirt and pebbles. She tripped and fell, dust and dirt flying up as her weary body hit the floor. _

_She lay there for a moment, and listened to the echo of the steel door screaming into place, and her labored breathing. It was a requiem, of sorts; the final song of Anastasia's old life, the life that was now dead to her. Jagged rocks and pebbles stabbed her body through the blue and yellow mesh of her jumpsuit, and she groaned, sitting up with some trouble; her arms covered in bruises from Officer Kendall's nightstick, and bites from the radroaches she'd beaten down to save Ellen Deloria. As she struggled to her feet, squinting toward glowing bright light coming from the cracks of a rickety wooden door, she felt the note from her father shift in her pocket, and she grimaced, remembering the cold touch of Jonas' fingers as she pried the note out of his corpse's hand._

_Anastasia stumbled forward, adrenaline gone, body suddenly weary and chilled from the cool cave air mixing with the mist of sweat that formed on her body. She pushed open the creaky door, rocks tumbling from its wake, and flooding the cave with bright, white light, brighter and hotter than anything she'd ever experienced._

"Wake up, wake up!" Anastasia bolted upright, grabbing wildly for her sniper rifle before she realized it was just a Brotherhood of Steel Knight, shaking her awake in the barracks below Galaxy News Radio. She sighed in relief, sat up, and smiled wearily.

"Oh, Knight Dillon, it's you. I'm sorry, what is it?" Dillon smiled kindly.

"Sorry to startle you miss, but you were crying out in your sleep; I thought I had better try and wake you before you hurt yourself, thrashing about like that." Anastasia, blinked a few times, and remembered her dream. She smiled at the Knight kindly, and thanked him.

After he left, she pulled on her combat boots over her leather armor, and ran her hands through her curly blonde hair before tying it up carefully. She slung her backpack over her shoulders, followed by her assault rifle.

It had been two years since Anastasia, young and naïve, had stumbled out of the vault and into the harsh sunlight of the wastes. Now a woman of twenty, she was tough, experienced. She had honed the skills that she had learned in and out of the vault to survive, to _thrive_. And now, finally, she had picked up her father's trail, a trail that had been cold for so long.

As she walked out of the station and past wreckage and mutant bodies from an earlier fight, Anastasia consulted some notes Three Dog had given her. She was supposed to find some kind of satellite dish to place at the top of the Washington monument, and it was, supposedly, in the Museum of Technology. There was a faded and ripped poster advertising the Virgo II Lunar Lander exhibit, and directions to the mall were written on the back; take few subway tunnels and she would arrive in the mall. Three Dog hadn't specified exactly where on the mall the correct museum was, but he had scribbled a note at the bottom of the poster: _If you get lost, ask directions at the Museum of History._

Anastasia made it to the mall with ease, expertly sneaking through the subways, avoiding raiders, mutants, and feral ghouls, as well as killing more than her fair share. She crept up the steep stairs leading out of the metro station, and was taken by surprise; the capital building was in the distance, almost unharmed, as well as the Washington Monument. She had assumed the entire mall area would be destroyed; only a few buildings left standing like in so many other areas, but she couldn't be more wrong. Now at a loss of where to begin looking for the Museum of Technology, she looked around, searching for old signs that could possibly point her in the right direction.

Anastasia boldly stood up straight to try and get a better view, but the moment she did so, she heard a cry of rage from behind her; just behind the metro landing stood a Super Mutant, enraged at her sudden presence and wielding a board spiked with nails. She quickly fired at him, hitting his chest a few times but narrowly missing his head. She moved backward quickly, hoping she wouldn't trip on any loose rubble. Although the Mutie was bleeding quite badly, he was still coming at her, screaming,

"You die now!" She fired off another round, and suddenly the Mutie fell to the ground, dead. Anastasia was about to lower her weapon when she heard heavy footsteps coming at her fast. She spun around and hit another Mutie right between the eyes, killing him instantly. She backed up yet again as two more Mutants ran toward her, one with another nail board, and one with a hunting rifle. Bullets whizzed past her, hitting the tiles at her feet with little explosions, and for every shot the Mutie fired, Anastasia fired off an entire round. Mutants just kept coming however; Anastasia's 'always on the move' fighting style was doing her more harm than good.

_I've got to get out of here, before I completely waste all my ammo! _She thought, eyes searching desperately for an escape. Finally, she slung the strap of her weapon over her shoulder and ran.

She stumbled over rubble and around old, obsolete cars, and she didn't stop running until she knew for a fact she was safe. Panting, she looked around, no longer knowing exactly where she was, and then she saw someone, walking around in front of a large, mostly in-tact building, with a metro station right in front of it. As Anastasia cautiously strayed closer, she noticed fallen signs: _Museum Of Natural History_.

"Ah, another smootheskin with a death wish. Welcome to the mall, tourist." A ghoul woman greeted her.


	2. Chapter 2 Meeting

Chapter Two-Meeting

Anastasia headed inside to rest up and reload, after getting directions from Willow, a ghoul out in front of the museum. She pushed open the creaky double doors and found herself in an abandoned reception area. She walked around the desk, cautiously peering in crumbling, unused bathrooms. The walls in front of the main entrance sported faded posters advertising the lunar lander exhibit, almost identical to the poster in Anastasia's backpack. She stepped into the main chamber of the museum, and jumped back, whipping out her sniper rifle automatically before she realized that the large, fearsome object she had seen was the fallen skull of a dinosaur skeleton display. Across from the crumbling bones stood a wooly mammoth, in good condition, eternally posing on its stand. Between them was a thick, dirty, plush, red carpet that led up tapering steps into the mouth of what appeared to be a giant skull. The grim inscription above the doors read

**JOURNEY TO UNDERWORLD**

Anastasia hesitated; the place didn't exactly seem inviting, but she trusted Three-Dog and the Brotherhood, so she stepped onto the long carpet and proceeded to the grimy, black and silver double doors that led to Underworld.

Underworld was a city, it turned out, of ghouls. She was greeted kindly, by the ghouls however, and they were simply glad to have some new company. She traded for supplies at the little supply store, and made her way upstairs to Carol's place. The kind ghoul woman, Carol, gave Anastasia a nice, cheap room, and chatted with her about the outside world for a while. Finally, after dropping off everything but her caps in her room, she headed over to the Ninth Circle, underworld's bar.

Anastasia walked in and glanced around the room. It was full of ghouls, drinking strong alcohol and taking Jet to try and forget their sorrows. Anastasia's eye was immediately caught by someone standing in the corner. He was tall, much taller than anyone else she'd ever known. He had a combat shotgun on his back, and he wore worn down leather armor. Anastasia saw him glance toward her, and she quickly looked away, and made her way up to the bar.

The bartender's name was Azhrukhal, and Anastasia could tell right away that he was a low character. He openly admitted that he addicted the citizens of Underworld to his booze and chems so he could further his business, and he also wished to take out Carol's, which was his only competition. After a few beers, Anastasia called Azhrukhal over to her.

"So." She said.

"Another beer, smootheskin?" She shook her head.

"I was wondering…who's that in the corner?" Azhrukhal smirked.

"That is Charon. Let's just say…well, he's a loyal employee. Don't mess with me, and he won't mess with you." Anastasia, frowned, suspecting that there was much more to Charon than Azhrukhal was telling her.

"What do you mean by 'loyal employee'?" Azhrukhal smirked.

"I hold Charon's contract, which makes me his employer. He will do what I ask when I ask, without question."

"Very loyal, it would seem. Why?" Anastasia pried, and Azhrukhal couldn't help but brag about his prized possession.

"Well, you see, Charon fell in with an interesting group of individuals. They…well I guess you could say they brainwashed him." Anastasia's eye's opened at this, and she glanced back to the looming figure in the corner. Charon was keeping an eye on a drunken ghoul who had started arguing loudly with the ghoul across from him, but when he felt her watching him, his eyes flicked up and met hers for a brief moment. Anastasia looked back to Azhrukhal. "He is absolutely loyal to whoever holds his contract. Unfailing, unflinching, until the day his employment ends. Don't get me wrong," Azhrukhal continued, looking over at Charon as one may look at a trophy, "I have no doubt that he holds no end of animosity towards me, but so long as he is my employee, he is as gentle as a teddy bear."

"What exactly does he _do_ for you?"

"Oh, he watches the bar, keeps the drunks in line. Pretty much, I point at something and Charon hurts it. He's the best thug a corrupt bartender could ever ask for. He never bothers me with his own annoying sense of morality." Anastasia frowned. She knew how Charon must feel; caged, longing to escape the confinement of his so-called 'home'.

"I'll buy his contract from you, Azhrukhal." Azhrukhal studied the strange woman sitting at his bar, and knew she was serious; she had a determined look about her, and the way her strange, golden eyes flashed, she emanated a confidence that said "I'll take that contract one way or another."

"Alright, just keep in mind that one's prized possession comes at a high price smootheskin."

"Two thousand caps, up front." Azhrukhal' eyes opened, and Anastasia could tell he was weighing his options. Just to help him decide, she pulled a bag of caps out of one of her pockets, and set it on the table. He stared.

"I suppose…I suppose that could work…yes. Yes…here's the contract," he said, pulling an old, dirtied piece of paper out of a wall safe next to him. "And I'll take my payment up front, as promised." He snatched the bag of caps off the table, not even bothering to count, and stashed it in the safe. "I'll give you the pleasure of informing Charon yourself." Anastasia grinned, and hopped off her barstool, and then she sidled up to Charon. He sighed and began,

"Talk to-" but Anastasia was too excited to listen to what he had to say.

"Slow down, there. I have good news! I'm your new employer!" His eyes grew wide.

"You purchased my contract from Azhrukhal?" Anastasia grinned and nodded. "So…I am no longer in his service…That is good to know. Please, wait here," he said, looking towards the bar, "I must take care of something." Charon walked across the room and stopped just short of the little bar entrance. Azhrukhal smirked.

"That's right, Charon, have you come to say goodbye?"

"Yes." Charon replied flatly, then in the blink of an eye, he drew his combat shotgun and blasted Azhrukhal, twice, then spat on the pile of guts that was left. He turned to Anastasia and coolly said, "Alright, let's go." Anastasia grinned.

"Sounds good to me- let's get out of here. Just let me get a refund first- he overcharges for this stale beer." Charon nodded.

"As you wish." Anastasia picked the lock to the wall safe, got her caps back (along with several more), then she grabbed two beers from the fridge, handed one to Charon and asked,

"So…ever been to the museum of Technology?"


	3. Chapter 3 First Impressions

**Chapter Three—First Impressions**

"Sure." Anastasia grinned as they walked into Carol's place.

"Okay, good, because that's where we're going, tomorrow." She pushed open the little makeshift door to one of Carol's 'rooms' and rummaged through one of the bags, pulling out an old poster. "We are going to retrieve this dish!" She exclaimed, pointing to the satellite dish attached to the Virgo II Lunar Lander in the advertisement. Charon nodded.

"As you wish." Anastasia was slightly taken aback by his complacency, but she said nothing and folded up the poster and replaced it in the backpack, then she sat on the bed, and looked at him. He stood by the door, as if anxious to leave. He didn't look at her either, his eyes down at his boots. He held no visible emotion, simply a servant, there to do his job.

"Oh, um, name's Anastasia, by the way." She introduced herself, blushing and embarrassed for not having done so earlier. He nodded. She took a swig of her beer, and then put her backpack on the ground. "Well, I'm going to rest up for tomorrow. If you need to rent a room, caps are in the bag. Just…um…do whatever until morning, I guess." Charon nodded, and left the room without another word.

_Well, Ana, that went swimmingly. What have you gotten yourself into? _She sighed, put her beer on the bedside table and lay down on the bed, trying to fall asleep.

At some point Anastasia remembered opening her eyes to find darkness, only faint light from outside in the other room, and she saw the tall figure of Charon standing nearby. She felt faint concern, but fell back asleep anyway. When she woke next, it was morning, and Carol was humming to herself as she readied the rooms for the day. She sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed and almost screamed, clasping her hands over her mouth in surprise; she'd narrowly missed stepping on Charon, who was sleeping on the tile floor beside her bed. He was woken up by the sound of her moving, and she immediately sat up and put her hands down on the bed as he opened his eyes, and sat up.

"I told you that you could buy yourself a room!"

"No vacancy." he replied, standing and slinging his shotgun over his shoulder.

"Well it's a queen size bed; you could have easily shared with me! There was no need to sleep on the floor!"

"I did not want to disturb you." Anastasia sighed, and ran a hand through her hair.

"Okay, fine, thank you. Just…don't do it again." Charon nodded, watching his new 'employer' stretch and yawn. She was very pale for a wastelander, and her golden-blonde curly hair gave her a strange, angelic appearance. Her eyes too, were uncanny; they were a bright amber-yellow color, and they seemed to almost glow. "Can you hand me my bandanna? It's just on top of that satchel there." He did as he was told, thinking about the strangely literate sound of her voice when she spoke; most wastelanders never learned to read, much less speak so eloquently. _Yes_, he thought as he watched her tie the bright red bandanna over her head_, there's something different about her_.

Anastasia reached under the bed and pulled out a large bundle wrapped in an old army surplus blanket; it turned out to be a large, silver and black sniper rifle. Charon was taken aback; he had expected the girl to need his protection, as she seemed so delicate, but it seemed that he was simply her backup. She slung the rifle over her shoulder, after putting on a backpack full of random items. She pointed to the other. "Can you please carry that one? Careful, it's pretty heavy." He nodded, and she pushed open the door for him. "Please, lead the way, Charon."

"As you wish."

The two traveled in silence. Charon led the way through crumbling towers of rubble, combat shotgun at the ready, and Anastasia followed, occasionally stopping to pick off a Super Mutant with her rifle. After a while, she grew weary of the silence and flicked on her Pip-Boy's radio.

"THREEEEEEEE DOOOOOG!" the radio blasted and Anastasia gave a little yelp, slamming off the radio, but the shout was already echoing through the mall; she heard the cries of angry super mutants. Charon turned toward her, but before he could say anything, he raised his gun and fired past Anastasia's shoulder. She whipped around in time to see a Super Mutant Brute tumble into the rubble behind her. He took a few steps towards her as she grabbed her rifle, but he was stopped again by the sound of heavy boots stomping towards them, fast. Anastasia swung toward the source and the moment the Mutant's head showed over the ground, she blew it off. Charon grabbed Anastasia's wrist, pulling her toward him, and yelling,

"Come on kid, there's too many out here- we need to get to cover!" They took off, half running, half falling down old building remains and over trashed pre-war cars. Super Mutants with rifles shot at them all the while, causing the ground around them to burst with the impact of hunting bullets, while those only armed with clubs and hammers thundered after them. While they were running, Anastasia saw a little alleyway between two of the more intact buildings, and she pulled Charon towards it. She pushed him into the alleyway and crouched down. He crouched beside her, protesting,

"What are you-"

"Hush!" she commanded, putting a finger over her mouth and turning to watch six Super Mutants run past them, shouting threats. After a few minutes, the mall quieted down and the mutants passed them again, walking, angry that their prey had escaped. Anastasia turned and grinned at Charon. "Sorry about that-I was hoping for music, not a screaming announcer."

"That man is annoying as hell." He grumbled.

"I have to agree with you there, but he's got a good heart and that's what matters. Anyway, I can see the museum now, so let's keep going."

"And I shall follow."

They entered the museum and quickly cleared the atrium of the three mutants that inhabited it; Anastasia took out one on the balcony and another standing on the old, fallen model of a plane, while Charon toppled yet another as it ran out of a bathroom. They both fell silent for a moment, waiting to see if the brief battle had drawn the attention of any others, but they appeared to be unnoticed, for the moment. Anastasia motioned for the duo to move forward, and they both flanked the main desk, checking for any further enemies in the room, then meeting up by the back wall.

"I'm all clear over here."

"This side's clear." Charon replied, and they both stood up, relaxing a bit. Anastasia looked around for a bit, picking up some random things she wanted, as well as taking an old stealth-boy off its display, while Charon took ammo off the bodies of the three mutants. He was at the body of the final mutant, the one on the balcony, when Anastasia called up to him. "The staircase on this side is totally busted! Is there a way on up there?" He stood, and looked around.

"I think there's a way through here." Anastasia moved up the stairs to meet him, but the moment she saw where he was thinking about going, her eyes grew wide and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"I'm not going in there, Charon. I am _not_ going in there." She said firmly, staring with anger and fear at a walk-through Vault-Tec replica of one of their fallout vaults.


	4. Chapter 4 A Haunted Past

**Chapter Four—A Haunting Past**

Charon stared at his owner incredulously; _what is wrong with her? _Then, suddenly, he noticed the pip-boy on her arm. How could he have missed it? Either way, she must have been in a vault at one point, perhaps scavenging. Charon knew that most of what went on in the vaults was messed up shit, and that most of them never opened to release their inhabitants. Whatever she had seen, it a shaken her badly, and he needed to coax her into continuing, mostly so he could fill out her previous commands.

"We must continue. You may wait here if you wish, and I will retrieve the dish for you." Anastasia pouted.

"I…I want to do this…I just-" She looked up at the vault door and shuddered. Then after a moment, she moved to him and linked arms with him. He was slightly taken aback by the gesture, but she locked eyes on the dark hole of the "vault" and said, "Okay, let's get this over with."

As they reached the entrance, the lights flicked on automatically, along with a man's cool voice, narrating their tour through the vault. Charon kept on high alert, knowing that the lights and sound would most likely attract any nearby muties, but Anastasia seemed to go into a trance-like state, simply blocking out everything around her; only Charon was real, because he was not from _that_ life, he was here, he was _now_. They passed untouched vault-tech replica rooms, perfected for the pre-war family. Now all they were to Anastasia were reminders of an experiment gone horribly wrong. Charon cautiously led his master around a corner, and the exit into the rest of the museum was in sight, but so was the charred, dusty skeleton of a pre-war janitor, next to a crumbling mop and grimy bucket of water. Anastasia collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as she fought sobs of despair. At the same time, Charon glanced up to see the massive silhouette of a mutie in the hall behind them. With his owner having some kind of a breakdown, he decided to take control of the situation. He grabbed Anastasia's sniper rifle out of her shaking hands and fired at the mutie killing him instantly. He swung the rifle over his shoulder and carefully but hastily picked up Anastasia, carrying her close to him.

"Come on, let's get outta here!" He walked as fast as he could down the hallway, and out into the museum. On the landing below them was the Virgo II Lunar Lander, and several super mutants. Thinking fast, Charon put Anastasia down and abandoned her rifle for his combat shotgun. He aimed through the bannister and shot down a mutie wielding a rebar club, and fell back to avoid a spray of bullets from two others wielding hunting rifles. After he heard the first clicks of reloading, he moved forward taking aim and firing at the reloading mutie, but as he fired his eyes grew wide as he realized the second was not out of bullets yet; there was no way he could fall back or shoot him fast enough. Charon braced for the impact of a bullet when the loud bang of a sniper rifle sounded from behind him and the second mutie fell to the ground, dead alongside his companions. Charon spun around to see Anastasia standing again, fiercely defending him as he had defended her. He gold eyes flashed as she offered her hand and helped him stand again.

"Thank you, Charon." Charon nodded. She looked down at the Lander, studying the dish. "How do we get down there?"

"Maintenance corridor from the solar system display." She groaned.

"Okay, screw that." She reached into her bag and pulled out a coil of rope. She tied it around the bannister, and gave it a few tugs to make sure it was stable. She flipped over the side and gracefully swung down to the ground. Charon watched her take the dish down and carefully tuck it between her backpack and her back, so she could safely carry it around. She turned toward him with a grin on her face, then suddenly yelped and dove to the side; two muties with clubs had come to find their friends. Charon didn't have a clear shot, so he grabbed the rope, and jumped, swinging down and knocking one of the muties to the ground. He stood between Anastasia and the muties, and shot them both quickly, then a few more times after they fell, just to be sure.

Anastasia grinned as he helped her to her feet. "This whole 'partner' thing may not be half bad. Thank you." Charon nodded, slightly surprised at having been referred to as a "partner." "You don't talk too much, do you?" she asked as she walked over and tugged on her rope.

"I have usually been commanded not to speak unless it is necessary." Anastasia was quiet for a moment as she tugged and twisted her rope until it finally dropped to her feet like some dead snake.

"I don't want to 'command' you to speak, but I would enjoy your conversation. If you don't feel like talking to me then don't, but if you want to talk, I'm willing to listen."

"Thank you," Charon said, quietly, "that is very generous." Anastasia laughed.

"It's not generosity, its common courtesy. It's basic human kindness. Nobody should ever be denied that." Charon wasn't sure how to respond, so he followed Anastasia to the emergency exit without another word.

They reached the Washington Monument without any trouble, and the Brotherhood of Steel guards let them in happily, congratulating them on their successful dish recovery. Anastasia happily watched the scenery grow smaller through the holes in the wall as the elevator carried them to the top of the monument. Charon, however, was watching Anastasia, bathed in flashes of golden sunset, seeping confidence. The elevator stopped and they stepped into the little room; holes in the walls gave a good view of the mall, and the sunset. Anastasia installed the new dish in a matter of seconds, just unplugging the old one, and rewiring the new one. Then she went over to the edge, and sat down. She looked over at Charon, who was still by the elevator doors, and patted the ground next to her. "Come sit." Charon nodded, and joined her. It was silent for a bit, as they watched the sun slowly setting over the distant horizon. Charon glanced over only to find her looking at him. Charon immediately wanted to leave, to go hide. He usually didn't care, but for some reason he wanted to look good for her. He wanted her to see him as handsome, not some burnt out walking corpse. She smiled, and looked away. _I'd kill to read minds right now, _Charon thought. "So," Anastasia said, looking across the mall, a distant smile on her face, "I bet you'd like to know why I had my little…breakdown back in the museum." She glanced at him, shyly.

"If you wish to tell me, I would listen." He responded, carefully. She grinned.

"You don't have to be so formal all the time. I'm not like Azhrukhal." He nodded, and she rolled her eyes. "Truth is, I…grew up in a vault." Charon was taken aback.

"They…they still operate?" She nodded.

"I'm from…I thought I was from vault 101, not too far from Megaton. We were told everything out here was dead, it was just a complete radioactive mess, and that we could never leave. I guess it was all a lie though." She gazed across the wastes. "My father was a scientist. He got into the vault when I was a baby and raised me as if we'd lived there forever. I never knew the truth…until things went bad." She trailed off, a faint frown on her face.

"What happened?"

"It was the overseer's fault. He was mad, crazy with power. My dad left me, thinking I'd be safer in there, but the overseer went insane when he left. There was a revolt, so many people were hurt…I killed a man for the first time. I had to…there was blood on the floor where I learned to walk, my friends were getting hurt…" She looked down, holding beck tears. Charon looked at her, unsure of what to say: he hadn't been in this position for so long. Finally, he just quietly put his hand on her shoulder encouragingly. She leaned into him, looking for support. Charon sat, frozen, unsure of what to do. The sun dropped below the horizon and the stars began to come out. Anastasia sat up, blushing. "Sorry, I…just…yeah." She stood up, and so did Charon. "Let's go tell Three Dog this is over. He owes me information."

"About what?" Anastasia grimaced.

"My father."


	5. Chapter 5 Unexpected Events

**Chapter Five—Unexpected Events**

Charon followed Anastasia through the downtown D.C. wastes, and before too long they met up with a Brotherhood dispatch, sent to escort Anastasia to Galaxy News Radio. They walked in silence, and when they reached the bunker, the Brotherhood members solemnly and respectfully thanked her and nodded their goodbyes. Anastasia was greeted at the door by Knight Dillon.

"We're all really excited about the new dish. You're helping a lot of followers fight back against the Enclave."

"Thank you, Dillon. I'm glad to help, but I was promised information in return. Where's Three Dog?"

"Ah, he's upstairs broadcasting his first message across the wasteland. Just wait a few minutes until he's off the air, then you can go talk to him." Anastasia nodded, and walked slowly up the stairs, deliberating her every movement.

"To tell you the truth," she murmured, so Charon could only just hear her, "I'm afraid of what I may find out."

Three Dog stood with his back to them as the duo entered the broadcasting station, but when he turned and saw them, he nearly dropped his coffee cup.

"The triumphant hero has returned! She is the savior of the wasteland, helping any and all who cross her path, fighting the good fight!" Anastasia wasn't impressed.

"Okay, I fixed the satellite dish, so now you help me. Where's my father? Why did he come here?"

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you where your daddy went. He came by…how long ago? It was quite a while…nearly two years ago. He was headed for Rivet City, to see a Dr. Li. Do you know her?"

"Never heard of her."

"He was working on some project with her, years back." Anastasia sighed, and nodded.

"Thank you, Three Dog. I'll...I'm going to go home for a bit, then I'll head to Rivet City."

"Oh, I almost forgot, here's a holo-picture of her. I'll put it on your pip-boy. Tell your father I said hello."

"Thanks again, Three Dog." Anastasia said with a weary smile, then she turned and left.

As Charon and Anastasia walked down the steps of the Galaxy News Radio broadcast bunker, she asked "What's the best way to get to Rivet City? I need to sleep in my own bed for once. A hot meal wouldn't suck too bad either"

"We can head across the river, then just due west from there." Anastasia moaned.

"Let's get walking, I guess."

"Wouldn't you like to sleep first? You have been up for a very long time." Anastasia nodded.

"You're probably right, but I don't want to sleep in the bunker or underworld again. Let's…okay, let's walk to the bridge, so that's just through the metro station, then we'll camp there." Charon nodded.

"As you wish."

They traversed the metro with little problem. Anastasia had taken out most of the ghouls and raiders that inhabited the decrepit tunnels when she traveled into the D.C. ruins, and between herself and Charon there was more than enough firepower to kill anything in their path without any trouble. When they got to the gate, Charon watched Anastasia pull it open. Her pale skin shone in the moonlight, and her slender hands grasped at the iron grate as she pulled it back. There was a definite weakness though, a tiredness that was clearly visible through her shaking wrists and the bags under her eyes. She must've felt him watching because she turned to him, smiling with flashing gold eyes. Her smile disappeared in an instant, replaced by fear and shock, and before Charon could react he felt something collide with the back of his head. Moments later he felt his body collide with the floor of the metro tunnel, dirt and grime flying up around him. Charon faintly heard the sounds of a sniper rifle, felt the warm sensation of blood spattering across him, and then there was blackness.

"Thanks again. If you hadn't caught my distress signal…" Anastasia said, quietly.

"It's no problem. It's really the least I could do. Is your bodyguard going to be okay?"

"Yeah, Doctor Church said he'd fully recovered in a few days. Until then he just has to take it easy, relax."

"Are you going to need a temporary replacement? I could-"

"I can take care of myself. You know that. Now go home. I'll be fine."

"I believe you, baby doll. Good night."

"Night."

Charon listened quietly, not really feeling like opening his eyes. His head throbbed with pain, and he heard the rattle of a door being closed, and the panting of a dog nearby. As it turns out, the dog was very nearby; it began to lick his face. Charon groaned and tried to sit up. "Slow down, Charon! You need to sit up slowly, or you'll just feel worse. Dogmeat, get away from the poor man." As Anastasia helped him sit up and Charon slowly opened his eyes to the sight of hundreds of little lights, all he could focus on was having been referred to as a man. Not a ghoul, not a bouncer or a bodyguard, a _man. _"We're in my house. You got hit by a mutie brute back in the metro. I sent out a distress signal from my pip-boy and some old friends helped me get you here. You're safe now." Charon looked around, a bit dazed. Anastasia's home was quaint, decorated with modest pre-war furniture and trinkets she had found in her travels. She lit the place using strings of Christmas lights.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Don't worry; it's only been about four hours since it happened. We'll have to stay here for a few days while you recuperate." Charon nodded, relieved, and sunk into the couch, only to realize he had been stripped to his boots, pants and undershirt.

"Where is my armor?"

"It's up in your room." Anastasia said, smiling. "Do you think you can walk?"

Charon nodded, and they slowly ascended the small staircase, Anastasia carefully walking alongside Charon to insure he didn't fall, and Dogmeat trailed behind them, panting happily. She opened the door at the top of the stairs to reveal a small room with a bed and some shelves. There were some cotton blankets neatly folded and waiting on the bed, and Charon's armor and shotgun rested on the shelves, along with his spare rounds. Charon was speechless. He walked to the bed and sat on it cautiously; he had never been offered such hospitality with any of his previous owners. "There's a robot out in the hall; I'll have him wait by your door tonight, in case you need anything. His name is Wadsworth. I'm right in the next bedroom. Charon nodded, looking around, bewildered. "Good night, Charon." She said with a tired smile, and then she closed the door and went into her own room with Dogmeat.

"Goodnight." Charon murmured a few moments later, into the silence.


End file.
